The Facts On Overpopulation

When our second child was born over 35 years ago, we were told by well-intentioned friends that we should not have any more children because the world is already overpopulated. We obviously didn’t agree for we had five more. The warning today is louder than ever.

Paul Ehrilich stated about 50 years ago, “It is already too late to avoid famines that will kill millions, possibly by 1975”. Another said, “I state flatly that the hungry world will not be able to feed itself ten years from now”. This warning was given in 1967. Yet, the evidence declares overpopulation and its woes to be simply untrue.

Obviously the population is growing. In the U.S. the rate is presently one more person every 16 seconds. We have 3.5 billion more people in the world than in 1950. However, this does not mean it is overcrowded. As proof, how long would you have to drive from your present location to be in wide open places? For us, it would take five minutes.

Though states like New Jersey have a population density of 1171 people/mile2, seven of the states have a resident density of less than 20 and have less than a million citizens. The average population density of the entire country is only 95 people/mile2. The city where I live is typical; it fits its 65,400 people into 30 square miles, giving a population density of 2160 people/mile2. The average school classroom, where children spend more time than any other place during the week, has a population density of a million people/mile2. We can conclude that crowded conditions are, for the most part chosen, not forced on people. Overpopulation is not caused by a lack of land.

The population density of the world is presently 34 people/mile2, or a full seven and a half acres of useable land for every person on earth. The simple fact is that most of the world is empty. Indeed, the entire world population could live in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri under the same conditions as those in New York City, about 25,000 people/mile2. In an American suburbia density, we could all fit into the 48 contiguous states.

The scare statistics are taken from unusually crowded countries such as Bangladesh (2750 people/mile2) or India (890/mile2). The crowded conditions are blamed for their troubles. Yet, contrast India with the industrial giant Japan whose density is only slightly less. No, the reason for starvation is usually political unrest, war, unwise government regulations, and false religion. Truthfully, the land in most countries, including India, could sustain a much greater population.

Yet the warning trumpets continue to be blasted. “We cannot long continue our present rate of progress. The first check for our growing prosperity, however, must render our population excessive” . Does this sound like the morning news? It was said in the year 1865! “Our number are burdensome to the world, which can hardly support us” . This goes back to Tertullian, written in the second century! Those who are honest admit that India alone has enough rich farm land to feed the entire world! Further, the production of food in the world has increased 1000% in the last century, much faster than population growth. The danger of starvation is decreasing, not increasing.

What difference does it make whether or not these facts are believed or not? Here is the principle: to rule the people, create a crisis. The phantom overpopulation teaching has for one thing, encouraged abortion, for they claim, among other things, that the child will demand resources that will simply be unavailable. Children become a liability, not an asset in this thinking.

The medical field is also influenced, as expressed in a leading textbook for training Gynecologists. “In the minds of many, rapid growth of population has become second only to nuclear warfare as civilization’s greatest menace. The gynecologist- obstetrician has assumed a leadership role and has recognized the necessity of controlling human fertility. . . Population growth is perforce temporary; that it will- indeed must- eventually cease, halted either by an increase in deaths or a decrease in births. There is no other way. Thus, people must come to want fewer children”. A woman expecting her third child might get what advice from a doctor so trained? The fact is that hysterectomies are the second most common major surgery each year (800,000), and only 10% are due to cancer.

The real problem is a lack of love for children, not a fear that there are too many. Sadly, too many view children as a roadblock to reaching their goals. However, the truth is that children are the future of any country. When properly trained, they multiply the potential of parents and benefit society in a multitude of positive ways. Wise is the person who views children not as the destruction of the world, but as its hope.